


Let Sleeping Dragons Lie

by generic__username



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang is a sweetheart, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Hurt Zuko (Avatar), Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Katara & Zuko (Avatar) Friendship, Like glacial burn, M/M, Not Beta Read, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Slow Burn, Sokka & Zuko (Avatar) Friendship, Yue & Zuko Friendship, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, dragon!Iroh, dragon!Ursa, dragon!zuko, honestly imma fuck that guy up, just watch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:55:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23311951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/generic__username/pseuds/generic__username
Summary: When the first dragons taught mortals how to firebend, they were seen as wise and just rulers. Some were gifted human form, and from those dragons the royal family is descended from. They have forgotten this gift, as have many others, until Agni once more demonstrates how far he will go to save his children. Dragonfire is not so easily snuffed out, and soon the world will see.It is best to let sleeping dragons lie. But when they wake, well.
Relationships: TBD - Relationship
Comments: 128
Kudos: 1158
Collections: The Best of Zuko, avatar tingz





	1. If You Find a Dragon

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: This AU is extensive. I am basically saying fuck cannon and using the timeline as my own punching bag. Read as you will.
> 
> Enjoy!

There is a dragon that sleeps under the city of Caldera.

It wasn’t there when Fire Lord Azulon ruled, but it was there when Fire Lord Ozai took the throne. It slumbers in an unnatural sleep, one that has kept her- for it is a her- dreaming for nearly ten years. She sleeps, in an underground cavern underneath the palace, dreaming of dragon-cubs, betrayal and fire. She sleeps, and dreams, and does not awaken.

Once, she was something other than a dragon. Once, she was a mother with two cubs. Once, she did not fear her life-mate and once she did a terrible thing to protect her children. Most anyone knows that the most dangerous place to be in nature is between a mother and her child, and unfortunately for one ruler of flame, he was in such a place. Perhaps this is why she did not think twice about doing what she deemed necessary.

The people of Caldera do not know that a being of fire and teeth and claw sleeps under their very feet. They do not know that there are still dragons in the world, do not know that their once proud fire bending ancestors still walk the earth. Well, sleep on it at least. None know, but all remember the fall of the Fire Lady, who was there when Fire Lord Azulon ruled, but not when Fire Lord Ozai did. They remember a kind lady, who had only sought to protect her children, and do not discover the sleeping dragon in her place.

There is a dragon that sleeps under the city of Ba Sing Se.

It wasn’t there when Fire Lord Azulon ruled, but it was there when Fire Lord Ozai took the throne. It slumbers in an unnatural sleep, one that has kept him- for it is a him- dreaming for nearly seven years. He sleeps, underneath a lake that’s cold and dark, dreaming of one dragon-cub, grief, and fire. He sleeps, and dreams, and does not awaken.

Once, he was something other than a dragon. Once, he was a father with one cub, but another which he loved just as much. Once, he had nothing to fear as the Dragon of the West, but again he once had a son. Most anyone knows that fathers, although less aggressive than the mothers, will rear their heads and focus solely on the defense of their cubs. Perhaps this is why on the eve of his greatest victory, the dragon was defeated with the death of the very thing he had sworn to defend.

The people of Ba Sing Se do not know that a creature of destruction sleeps in their very walls. They do not know that the very same dragon that had breached their barrier now resides in the place he was so desperate to leave. They go about their day, talking and laughing and conversing, all while a being of nightmares dreams of a son lost to the very city in which he sleeps in. There were once two dragons in Ba Sing Se, for a very short while, but now there is only one who sleeps below a lake and dreams of happier times.

There is a dragon that sleeps under the Great Northern Tribe.

It wasn’t there when Fire Lord Azulon ruled, but it was there when Fire Lord Ozai took the throne. It slumbers in an unnatural sleep, one that has kept him- for it is a him- dreaming for nearly five years. He sleeps, encased in ice, curled around a pond that houses the mortal bodies of his heavenly kin, dreaming of a father-not-dragon, a hand reaching through the numbness of grief, and fire. He sleeps, and dreams, and does not awaken.

Once, he was something other than a dragon. Once, he was a brother, and loved his family unconditionally. Once, he was a loyal son who loved his father but was not loved in return. Most anyone knows that fathers are supposed to be defenders, but it did not stop this one from teaching the cub a lesson he never should have learned. Perhaps this is why the dragon’s face seems to be scowling, face set in eternal grief.

The people of the Great Northern Tribe, interestingly enough, actually do know about this particular dragon. He sleeps in their most sacred place, but he does not wake nor cause trouble. Although cautious, the people of the Great Northern Tribe have become fond of him, affectionally naming the dragonling (for he is too small to be a Great Dragon) Li, a common fire nation name. Many small children visit with their parents who go to pray, moreso to see the sleeping drake beneath the ice then to be bored to death staring at fish. But still, he sleeps and does not know how others look on in awe and a bit of fear, and only dreams of uncles and nephews and sisters and mothers.

If you find a dragon, most people would agree, it is better to leave them alone, and hope they do not see you. Most people nowadays focus more on the fearsome appearance of these draconic beasts, and do not think of how dragons were the first firebenders, the first to give the gift of light to man. They see the claws and teeth and think _Run!_ and do not return even if one such dragon would more likely offer tea than eat them for breakfast. Never the less, the three sleeping dragons do not wake, and slumber deeply beneath their respective dwellings, all while their nations Great Spirit looks on in contemplation. Agni knows (a chuckle at this thought) how this will turn out, and as he turns his large single eye onto his favorite child sleeping in his sisters followers’ abode, he forces out another wheezing laugh.

_To wake a sleeping dragon, indeed._

This bright, one-eyed figure takes one last look across the horizon before beginning his daily journey into the Land of Night. He is proportioned similar to the mortals he watches over, but if looked at for a longer period of time, one would start to realize that what they were looking at was not human. Too-long fingers, a grin that stretches too wide, and one single eye in the middle of his face where two should be. Golden light streams from his eye, reminiscent of the celestial body he represents, as he searches for his silver-haired sister. His clothing is fine, in a style of old Fire Nation dress, and he has a cloak seemingly (for it is) made of flames.

His sister, gazing at the world below is similar, with skin black as night, and just as otherworldly as him. A dress made of starlight and hair like moonbeams enshroud her form, bathing her in a celestial light. There is a crown of stars on her forehead, a direct nod to her elder brother’s circlet of flames and she doesn’t look up as he rounds her side.

As he passes his sister, hanging low and luminous in the night, they both grin as their almost identical single eyes squint down onto the sleeping world.

 _Do you think they’re ready to wake?_ Grumbles the golden-eyed brother, looking at his sister with furrowed brows, reminding her of a petulant child. _Surely they’ve been sleeping for too long._

The sister, although younger, gives a more mature response by wagging her finger and shaking her head. _Come now brother,_ she admonishes while smiling at his antics. _Have patience. Feng’s child is still sleeping so yours can wait as well._

Agni rolls his eyes, the effect somewhat dampened due to the fact he only has, well, one eye. _The world is moving too fast,_ he argues, _and my children will pay the price._

The moon spirit whirls on him, eyes ablaze with the fire few knew she was prone to carrying. _Your children?!_ She barks angrily _,_ uncharacteristically enraged. _It was your children who started this, and I am not talking about the ones sleeping in my embrace! If Feng can wait this long for her child, her_ last _child, then you can wait as well. Or spirits help me I will go down there myself!_

Head bowed, the sun spirit accepted the rebuke as it was. _Forgive me, sister,_ he replies, sorrowful. _I only want what’s best for them and they…_

Her brows relax and her eyes take on a sorrowful look, _I understand, and I apologize to you as well. You are not your peoples actions._ Her eyes take on a scheming lit, though, as she peers down to the large slumbering dragon that encircles her mortal form.

 _It is too soon to wake all of them at once,_ she begins, _And we cannot wake any of them before the World Spirit has returned._

 _However_ , she begins, noticing her siblings hopeful look.

_Perhaps we can start with this one._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVE REACHED 69 KUDOS!!
> 
> NOBODY ELSE RESPOND
> 
> DO NOT GIVE ME ANOTHERONE
> 
> LET ME LIVE IN GLORY


	2. Leave Him Where He lies

Princess Yue, aged twelve, does not know when exactly the dragon came to be. Unlike the other dragons who sleep (although she does not know this), this dragon is visible through the clear surface of the ice, and without even realizing it, causes trouble before he even begins to wake. The elders were in such a riot when the ice, which had previously been cloudy and opaque, began to turn clear as if something was warming it up from the inside. There had been endless debates about what do do about the sleeping dragon, if the spirit fish should be moved, and what to do when and if the dragon inevitably woke up. However, the dragon remained slumbering beneath the ice, and a decision was reached to leave him where he lied, and hope he didn’t wake up. Or if he did, was weak enough to kill. A new law was passed, saying that no one could try and intentionally disrupt the sleeping lizard. A hard look was given to some of the more rambunctious of the waterbenders, in case they feel emboldened enough to get rid of the ice to take on the fire breather themselves.

This however, did not deter the more rebellious of the Tribe to seek the dragon out themselves.

Eventually, after many an attempt to view the dragon (and causing more trouble than it was worth), the elders of the Great Norther Tribe elected to allow people back into the Spirt oasis. This served as a gift to the people who wanted to see the great serpent and also to (hopefully) promote a more spiritual existence, as more and more flocked to see the koi-spirits and the dragon.

Princess Yue, aged thirteen, is expected to be still and silent like the dragon that slumbers under her feet. Perhaps this is why she feels an unexpected kinship with him, and spends many a day sitting near his great snout, either reading or sewing or doing anting else expected from a woman. This serves a dual purpose for Yue, both being able to be seen as a spiritual person (not entirely untrue) and also serving as an escape. Whenever she needed to get away from the talks of her betrothal, what a ‘proper’ woman should do, and the elders disapproving stare ( _wouldnt stare if I was a boy, but Im not_ ), Yue knows she can meet her friend Li in a place of quiet and calm.

Perhaps this says much about the Great Northern Tribe, that their princess would become friends with a sleeping dragon before members of her own species. Yue is not allowed to become friends with any of the boys (and they probably wouldn’t want to be friends with her either), and Li is a much better listener than the vain little girls who her father wants her to befriend. Li, on the other hand, sits silently while she speaks to him, and does not preen and brag about his looks or shriek about which warrior looked at him today, like so many of those aforementioned girls do.

Instead, Li just sleeps and dreams. In some ways, Yue envies him, and his ability to sleep through anything and everything. Li sleeps through the time when an incense bearer drops the heavy pot, cracking a bit of the ice. Li sleeps through the fireworks they set off for Yue’s fourteenth birthday. Li sleeps through thundertstorms and lighting strikes, and sometimes Yue thinks that Li will sleep until the world ends.

There are some in the Great Northern Tribe who think Li is dead. He does not breathe, they argue, and they have never seen him wake. Perhaps he died a long time ago, they muse, and his corpse has only been shown recently.

Yue does not believe any of this. The same people who argue that her friend is dead, have never sat near his side and told him stories like she has. They have never talked with him (although, perhaps, she hasn’t either) and have never seen the glow of fire in his great chest.

Many know the story of Yue’s birth, and how the Moon spirit, Tui, gave her life. With every gift from the heavens, however, there are side effects that occur. Yue has learned this at a very young age, when she asked her nurse why everyone had a glow. She would soon realize that the ‘glow’ she had childishly described was the spirits of the people around her. Yue knew that her friend was alive, because his glow had not been extinguished, although it was dimmed a bit, but she chalked that up to the never-ending sleep Li was in.

Yue, now fifteen, does not know that her friend would not be asleep forever. She does not know, that as soon as another wakes across the ocean, her faithful listener would also open his eyes once more. However, that time is not now, and no one knows this except a certain brother and sister, and so Agni’s favorite sleeps below the surface while Tui’s favorite reads him stories and brings him news.

The time is not now, but soon will be.

~~~~

There is a saying, in the Great Northern Tribe, that was modeled after their own sleeping spirit tale. _If you see a dragon,_ says the parents and uncles and aunts of the Northern Water Tribe to the children tucked into their beds, _better leave him where he lies. He may not be as friendly or as kind as our friend Li, who dreams deeply and shuts his eyes._ This saying (a proverb, really, one happily amused uncle would point out much later with a twinkle in his eye) both endears the slumbering lizard to the children and serves as a reminder to go to bed at night. As such, Li is seen as a ‘good dragon’ even though most of the children will never fully realize how so, and as such gets many visitors per day. Although he may never know it, he is loved by much of the younger generation of the Northern Water Tribe.

The dragon sleeps, unbothered and untouched by weather or time.

~~~~

Tirikur didn’t like to pray. This was of course understandable seeing as he was five, and not prone to sitting in once place for extend periods of times. He, like many others his age, did not fully understand the art of speaking with spirits and saw praying as ‘sitting silently and talking to no-one in your head.’ Luckily for him and many other five year olds, there was a dragon under the ice in the Spirit Oasis.

The dragon has been the focus of attention of many a bored preschooler, and is what many of them gawk and gaze at while their teacher drones on about the importance of the spirits and how they interact with the world. Since Tirikur’s class was taught in the Spirit Oasis (supposedly to get the children in a more spiritual mindset), he and his classmates have no trouble watching the large, although not fully grown, dragon sleep.

The dragon does not breathe, or if he did, not obviously. He does not breathe smoke, nor does fire spew from his nostrils. He does not move, not even a twitch, and many a parent have wondered if he was even alive. Tirikur knows better though. All of his friends in his calls agree that when Li wakes up they’re going to throw a party just for hum. Tirikur is going to bring his mothers sea-prune juice. The five year olds nod sagely and agree that Tirikur’s mother’s sea prune juice is indeed a worthy offering.

For now, however, their serpentine friend sleeps and shows no sign of awakening soon. But what as sight it is! Li’s long scaly body almost completely encircles the Spirit oasis, with the tip of his snout just touching the end of his tail. He has a dark mane the color of coal, and scales the color of a sunrise, with yellow on his belly and deep red along his spine. Two whiskers hung above a fanged mouth, but arguably the most curious thing about the dragon was his eyes. Well, eye, actually. One was normal, tightly shut with sleep, but the other was blackened and scarred. The scales formed around his left eye are cracked and burned, as if someone took a torch to his face.

_Its so strange_ , Thinks Tirikur, _I thought dragons couldn’t burn._

In all the stories told about dragons, _they_ were usually the ones doing the burning, not the other way around. Tirikur supposes that he may have gotten burned like the time he went penguin sledding without a parka and had gotten what his mom called ‘windburns’ but Tirikur doesn’t think that his burns were as bad as the dragon’s,

So engrossed in the lecture, Tirikur’s teacher does not notice that his class had fully given up on listening to him. Instead, they were fidgeting in their criss-cross-sea-prune-sauce position, trying to get a better glimpse of Li below the ice. This is why the teacher has his back towards the dragon and does not see what sends about two dozen excitable toddlers into a tizzy.

The dragon _twitches_.

Eyes widening, Tirikur looks around to see similar faces of disbelief on his classmates. If one were to walk into the Spirit Oasis now, you would see what could be described as the calm before the storm. Every eye under the age of six was trained on the serpentine slumberer as hisforelegs once again, _shift._

“… And so that is how the Great Spirits Tui and La came to be in their mortal form, ever swimming, ever entwi- what?” Abruptly asked the teacher, who had just noticed that his students were no longer focused on him. And all eyes are now on him as he turns to face a now not-completely-asleep dragon.

“What are you all- hrk!”

_Oh_ , Tirikur thinks, _He saw the dragon move too._

And with that thought, the class erupts in chaos.

~~~~

It has been a month since Li has begun to wake. The elders disagree with her, Yue thinks, and they just argue that he is dreaming more fervently than usual. Yue, however, has begun to see the signs. Li’s glow is brighter now, not fully at the brightness of an awake and aware person, but it is slowly and steadily growing. He shifts more often then not in his sleep, even moreso when Yue is next to him reading aloud. Her father’s men have suggested that she not go into the Spirit Oasis, but Yue has so little freedom that she is unwilling to give this up. She puts her foot down, and they are so surprised at this bit of backbone that they allow her under the condition that she always has a guard near her in case the dragon does wake.

It does get her a few strange looks, to be reading to a dragon who cannot hear her, but the fish seem to enjoy the tales as well, so she doesn’t get too much flack for it. For the most part, guarding her is a boring task to most of the warriors, and who would attack the princess in their own city anyways? _The dragon isn’t ever going to wake up,_ one such guard grumbles softy to himself, _it’s not like she’s in any danger._

Perhaps this is why when her guard takes _another_ break (really what is his problem, thinks Yue), she is the only one to witness the first time her companion opens his eye. It is the scarred and cracked one, and doesn’t open fully, but it is open a sliver. As Yue looks up from her book, she feels the ‘glow’ of Li spike. Upon meeting the golden eye of the great serpent, she gasps, and smiles softly.

“So you’ve finally decided to wake, my large friend?” She begins, but soon the dragon’s great eye begins to close again.

“Oh, too soon?” She asks, seeing as his breath becomes labored again. “Very well, but I will watch over you until you decide you are ready.”

Yue turns back to her book while her grumbling warrior returns from wherever he went. She makes a point of shooting him a glare while continuing to read in a soft voice to her compatriot.

_When he fully wakes,_ she promises, _I will be here to greet him._

Elsewhere, across the sea on the other side of the world, an iceberg breaks.

~~~~

As the days pass, and the city talks, and the dragon continues to wake, the World Spirit and his two companions make their way to the Great Northern Water tribe. They pass countless islands, escape from a stronghold (barely) and learn about a comet that comes once every one hundred years. Elsewhere, a princess waits for the awakening of a friend.

The dragon is no longer still beneath the ice surrounding the Spirit Oasis. His breath fogs the clear sheet of ice in front of him, and his long body shifts and moves more often in his sleep. His eye only opens when Yue is around to talk to him, and when there are only children in the room as well. Yue thinks he’s made a game of closing his eye and opening it quickly to make the young ones squeal and run. It must be terribly boring, she muses, to be encased in ice with no freedom.

_Perhaps, in that way, we are alike._ She tells him one moonlit night. He cannot nod, but his eye squints in what she assumes is in agreement. Still, though, it is inevitable that he returns to sleep, and does not wake fully.

_Next time, my friend,_ Yue always says, _I will be waiting for you next time._

~~~~

(She won’t be)

~~~

The Avatar has entered the city.

The Great Northern Tribe is abuzz with gossip as a ragtag parade of water tribe warriors, sky bison, and three children enter the city.

_The Avatar is here to save us all!_ Some shout in the street.

_The Avatar is here to bring the Fire nation._ Some grumble in the houses.

_The Avatar is here to slay the dragon,_ Some propose, eyes turned on the child-turned-savior.

If that last one is true, muses Yue, they will not last long in my city, Avatar or not. She looks at the group suspiciously as they confer with her father. She keeps her passive face on, but wants nothing more than to run to her listener and speak about what was happening. He couldn’t talk back, but his dry looks and rolling eye usually helped convey what he was feeling at any time. For a dragon encased in ice, he was very expressive.

The taller boy, (Southern water tribe?) seems to be staring at her. He is not bad looking, in any case, but it is starting to get on her nerves. The younger one is full of naivety, although he is warning her father about an immanent attack. He is too young, she thinks, and has not seen enough of the world to be a true Avatar.

He is too young, she thinks sadly. But fire does not care what age you are when it burns you.

The girl has a backbone. She has a fury to rival the most fearsome of storms. Yue looks on with pity, for a girl cannot learn to bend the way she wishes to. Yue knows this intimately, and cannot argue but wishes the girl the best of luck.

At the end of their meeting, she is tasked with escorting the Avatar and his friends around the city. The older boy, Sokka, looks at her like she hung the moon in the sky (elsewhere the moon spirit chuckles at this comparison) and the Avatar, Aang, seems to have the attention span of a goldfish. The girl, Katara, seems nice enough and is certainly a determined waterbender, but Yue takes the time to explain that women cannot bend in combat in the Great Northern Water tribe. Katara, predictably, takes this with a grain of salt, and Yue not-so-conspicually points out a library that has scrolls on combat maneuvers _But oh we can’t go in there, it is closed from sundown to sunrise and nobody will be in there anyway and girls can’t learn bending don’t you know?_

Katara catches on quicker than the other two and they share a sly grin as they continue on the tour. Finally, they reach the Spirit Oasis, with Li wrapped around the base of the pool. Upon catching eye of the slumbering behemoth, Sokka lets out a high pitched shriek that he tries to play off as a manly yell. No one believes it but refrains from commenting.

“ _What in Tui and La’s name is that?!_ ” Shouts Sokka, grabbing his sister and holding her like a shield in front of him. Katara then rams her elbow into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him as he falls to the ground, but also takes a step back, drawing water from the canteen at her hip.

The Avatar, interestingly enough does not yell or back away in fear. Instead, his eyes grew as big as saucers as he ran and knelt near the head of the dragon.

“What a handsome boy!” He exclaimed, using a tone of voice usually reserved for Appa. “Awww, he’s still growing, look at him Sokka!”

Upon looking back, however, he is greeted with the shocked faces of Katara and Sokka, as Yuetries desperately not to laugh.

“Wait, why is he under the ice?” Asks the avatar. “And why is he sleeping? Dragons aren’t supposed to be this far north, is he okay?” Aang looks back at the dragon, but he had not moved at all during this encounter.

“We don’t know,” replies Yue “My father and his advisors think that Li landed here during a storm five years ago. I was only eleven, and the Spirit Oasis was badly damaged. They had brought in waterbenders to repair it, but when they returned it was already fixed. The elders believed that Li was badly injured and flew here to escape whatever was chasing him, but got stuck in the ice when the Koi spirits repaired the Oasis.”

(This is not what happened but it is close enough)

“And you just let him stay?!” Says Katara, incredulously, ignoring her brothers mutter of _You named it Li?_

“He wasn’t doing anything except sleeping, and who would want to wake a sleeping dragon?” Intones Yue dryly. “Thats asking for trouble, and until recently he didn’t even breathe much. IT was like he was in hibernation.”

The avatar, already excited, bursts into a flurry when he hears this. “He’s waking up? That’s great! I thought all the dragons were gone, but I guess they’re not. Did you know once my friend Kuzon and I rode a dragon?”

Perhaps Yue should have warned them about the dragons opening eyes. But then again, she knew Li, and he wouldn’t stay asleep when there were stories to be told. Therefore, the trio was unprepared to know that when faced with a tale, Li would open his golden and crimson eye.

Unsurprisingly, Sokka was the first to react, placing himself between Katara and Yue, boomerang drawn. Aang on the other hand let out a coo and started gushing over _What a good boy, yes you are, so pretty and handsome, would you like to meet my bison?._

The dragon looked unimpressed.

“Li enjoys tales,” stated Yue, unbothered by the pandemonium around her. “It is very boring for him to be stuck in the ice, so I come to read to him daily.”

“You didn’t say he was _awake!_ ” Cried Sokka, unsuccessfully waving his boomerang at the dragons eye. Katara looked similarly uneasy, but did not take up a bending stance.

“I just said he was beginning to awaken,” replied the princess, with a raised eyebrow. “What did you think that meant? Besides it will be some time before Li can truly exit the ice. He is not strong enough on his own and he is still too tired.”

“I though you said he had been sleeping for five years?” Questioned the avatar, momentarily stopping his praises and looking at her with a confused look on his face. “Wouldnt he be more than rested?”

“You slept for a hundred years,” Yue points out. “Besides, I believe you started a story. It would be rude not to finish it.”

The dragon does not nod, but his eyes narrow as if to say _Yes, yes it would now please finish the story before I claw my scales off in boredom._

After a year, Yue has become very adept at interpreting Li.

And so a night begins of stories and tales as Aang tells Li about is time in the Air temples, and Katara and Sokka weave tales of ice and snow. Yue chimes in with legends of the earth kingdom and Li wishes that he could tell them stories of his home.

Thus is the beginning of a friendship spanning species and time (although they don’t know it yet) and this tale is one that will be told for centuries. But that is later and this is now and they do not know each other well yet. Li is still stuck beneath the ice and the Avatar only knows air bending and Katara isn’t a master yet and Sokka is still wrestling with what he knows and what he is told and Yue is not yet the leader she will become.

But they will persevere.

And as sure as the day turns into night, so will Li when he fully awakens. For now, the avatar and his friends will return to their rooms and whisper about the serpent in the ice. They will wonder if they are able to trust him and what they will do when the Fire Nation comes. The elders wonder if there will be a siege (there will) and do not worry about the dragon beneath the ice.

All worries will be put aside, however, on the next morn when Agni’s eye dawns read over the horizon, both a warning and a cautionary tale. Warriors begin to run to and from towers, manning battle stations, and preparing the city for war.

There was smoke on the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if there are any spelling or grammar errors, sorry looking for a beta reader :?
> 
> Anways, hope you guys like it! If you are a bit confused on the timeline, it'll be explained in later chapters and if you still need further clarification ill make a note about it.
> 
> If you like, leave a kudos or comment! See you guys probably in a few days but im gonna stick to a weekly schedule.


	3. For If You Try to Wake a Dragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! this chapter was a doozy. almost 4000 words
> 
> enjoy!

When Sokka came to the Northern Water tribe, he was expecting a fortress, warriors who could teach him how to use a sword, and to generally feel like home. What he wasn’t expecting was a dragon, buried under _not enough ice_ that looked big enough to take a bite outta Appa. And, when things couldn’t get worse, it _woke up._ And apparently, they were all living in a fever dream, since the Water tribe princes (who by the way was a 10/10 in Sokka’s book) explained that _Li_ liked to listen to _stories_ and had been sleeping for five years.

So yeah, sue him, Sokka was having a hard time wrapping his head around this.

Aang seemed to be having fun though. Every day, in between water bending training and teaching Katara what he learned, they would inevitably stop by the Spirit Oasis to spend at least an hour with the massive serpent. _Li,_ as he was apparently called, could not speak (obviously, as he was encased in ice) but somehow still managed to convey a lot in facial expressions. Sokka would never live down the fact that somehow a _dragon_ gave him the same look Gran-Gran used to give him whenever he did something particularly, well, not well planned. And by the look in Katara’s eye, she would never let him live it down either.

Sometimes, in between anecdotes, the dragon would chuff or make a noise in his throat, causing the ice to vibrate beneath their feet, but surprisingly it never cracked. Yue said something about a theory La keeping him below and Tui keeping him asleep, (not unfounded, but still not correct) but Sokka personally doubted the validity of that. Look, he knows that the mortal spirits of the Moon and Ocean are the koi fish in the pond (and wasn’t _that_ a fucking pill to swallow) but did the little fish _really_ have enough power to keep a _dragon_ contained.

Sokka doubts, but says nothing. Katara is like him, more wary, but is still polite to the dragon. She calls him Li and says _please_ and _thank you_ and tells him all kinds of stories about Sokka- which are not true! She is exaggerating, Sokka never ate fifty sea prunes because someone dared him too!

It was forty seven before he vomited, and that was only because Katara tickled his stomach.

But still, although wary, Sokka has begun to grin at the faces Li makes when listening to a particularly fanatical story of Aang’s. The dragon side eyes Sokka (kinda hard with one visible eye, but he makes it work) and against his better judgment Sokka starts to snicker as well. A low rumbling hum reverberates from Li, in what can only be described as a chuckle.

_Okay maybe he’s not all bad,_ thinks Sokka. _He’s defiantly got a sense of humor._

~~~~

Sleeping deeply, quiet and cold.

_Lightning flashes, thunder roars, and a betrayed son does not know where to go_

The dragon gazes up upon his best friend _(underestimated, put down, strong as the stars in the sky)_ and her companions. He doesn’t dislike them, in fact he enjoys when one of them wakes him and gives him a reprieve from the dreams and nightmares.

_A sister, singing “Dad’s gonna kill you!” As she dances out the door, a spark of madness in her eyes perpetuated by a father._

He likes to listen to the young one’s stories. In another life, he would have been an enemy, another face in the dark, to chase and catch and harm.

Not this life, though.

_Mother, gone “I love you” whispered in the dark, and a candlelight snuffed out._

He can tell that the girl doesn’t fully trust him. Thats fine, he thinks, for he is large and he thinks if he were like them again, he would be afraid as well.

_Grandfather, dead, stern and silent, a war thrust upon his shoulders that he did not have the sanity or ability to stop._

The elder brother is clever. He tells jokes that the dragon gets before anyone else. The dragon likes his stories the best, because they’re always simple, involving fathers that love their sons and sisters who don’t hate with their whole being.

_A cousin, teaching him how to bend, giving him an ability_ she _didn’t have with swords, and going off to war, not coming back._

Yue was of course his favorite. His soft spoken protector, storyteller, and friend. Without her, the dragon muses, he would have gone insane long ago. She sings him to sleep and treats him like a person, not an animal. Even when the pull of sleep draws him back down, she is always there during his brief awakenings.

_An uncle who went off to war with his cousin, always smelled of brewing tea, not as fearsome as others claimed he was, not coming back._

Yes, the waking was always better than the dreaming, the dragon decided.

~~~~

Katara begrudgingly likes Li. For a dragon that cannot speak, his face expresses exactly what he was feeling. When she stole borrowed the scrolls from the library that Yue had pointed out, she brought them to the Spirit Oasis to train. Yue promised her that she wouldn’t be disturbed by guards and if indeed someone came in, she could always act like she was reading the scrolls to Li instead of actually practicing. For the most part, Li seemed undisturbed by her bending, and the occasional glance to his face would show her that he was just watching her, with one sleepy eye cracked open.

Katara agrees with Yue that Li is indeed a good listener. He’s been making more noises as of late, grumbles and chirps and chuffs, and the ice near his snout has gotten thinner. Instead of pale fog, dark smoke is now regularly expelled from his nose with every breath he took. However, he never interrupted when she was speaking and would prod her with a questioning _Harumph?_ whenever he wanted to know more.

“I mean honestly,” Katara continued, on what Sokka documented as Little Sister Rant Time Number Four of the day, “They treat us like things, to do one thing, _marry,_ and then shut up, be silent for the rest of our life while we pop out kids! Are you _kidding me_?!”

Yue nodded sagely while sipping her tea as Li grunted in agreement. With a quirk of his eye and a wrinkle of his snout he asks silently, _So what are you gonna do about it?_

“Well I’m gonna do something!” Katara exclaims, not that she knows what that something is but La damn it, she’ll do _something._ Li gives her a doubtful look that manages to convey the _Yeah sure, totally, and hey while you’re at it, could you pick me up some creme puffs because I’m gonna get out of the ice right now, might be a but peckish._

“Oh don’t look at me like that.” She grumbles, plopping down to take part in the tea Sokka and Yue were sharing. Aang was off learning water bending while she was here trying to make sense of stupid scrolls that were written one hundred years ago. Who knows how outdated these could be! But it was all she had to work with, at least until Aang came back.

Li chuffs again, squirming in place as he repositions himself below the ice. _That can’t be comfortable,_ Katara thinks, _being trapped in ice, even if you are asleep most of the time must be the worst._

Catching her eye and pitying look, Li rolls his eye and huffs as if to say _Don’t pity me, I can handle it._ With a shake of her head and a smile, Katara drops the face and continues speaking to Yue.

At least the company was good.

~~~~

Aang couldn’t believe his luck.

First, they arrived at the Northern Water Tribe ( _yes! More penguin sledding!_ ), then he was going to learn waterbending (and teach Katara on the side, but nobody had to know that), and finally, there was a dragon still alive! How could this get any better?

Well, maybe if Katara was allowed into the training sessions, but you can’t win them all.

When Li finally wakes up for good, Aang is going to ask if he can get a ride. Appa is great and all, but its not every day you have the chance to ride a real life dragon!

_Well,_ the avatar thinks with a grimance. _Not everything is quite alright._

Being chased by Commander Sideburns all the way to the north pole was not the best way to spend almost three months, but it was better than being captured. Something didn’t sit right with Aang about Zhao. He seemed to cause violence for the sake of causing violence, and for an airbender, it was hard to imagine being able to do that. _It might just be a Fire Nation menatlity_ , Aang imagines, _But then again Li seems alright and he’s a dragon._

After his water bending practice had ended, and Katara was caught up on what he had learned, it was fun to go and sit at the Oasis. Li was always great company, no matter how much Sokka complained that he was laughing at him. In Li’s defense, Sokka has done many poorly thought through ideas.

Aang especially liked when Li managed to move a little beneath the ice. He was getting better every day! And, hey, dragons were the first firebenders, so he might get a fire bending master out of this as well.

_Its finally looking up for me, thinks_ Aang with a smile.

While turning down the hall to make his way into the Spirit Oasis, two frightened looking guards rush down the hallway, In their hurry to get wherever they were going, they almost knocked Aang to the side.

“Hey, calm down guys, we’re all friends here!” Says Aang, gesturing with his hands in the universal _Calm the fuck down_ gesture. “What’s got you guys so worked up anyways?”

“Haven’t you seen?” Asked one of the guards, nervously looking to his companion. They both turn to the young Avatar with twin looks of fear and determination on their faces.

“The fire nation has come to fight!”

_Okay maybe not._

_~~~~_

_Shifting, scratching, growing, waking_

The serpent beneath the ice is uncomfortable. This is not new. He is stuck in an immovable crescent, and although he has begun to move a bit, he is afraid his spine will be forever stuck in this half-moon shape. His claws are becoming dull from the scraping against the ice. Although he has never done it himself, he knows he will need to sharpen them with obsidian if when he breaks free. His mane is tattered and long and growing longer by the day. He is no longer in a state of stasis, and has begun growing again ever since he began to awake. If this keeps up, he will either break free, or keep growing until he is suffocated by the immovable ice.

However, these concerns are not why Li the dragon is, if not uncomfortable, at least uneasy. He is disturbed by the energy in the room.

_Something’s happening,_ He thinks, _Something big._

But once again like always, the tendrils of sleep take up his mind, and he is dragged back down into oblivion.

~~~~

Her city is dying.

Yue knows this, knows it as surely as she knows the dragon beneath her feet. The siege seems to be endless, a never-ending nightmare that keeps playing on repeat.

_Is this what Li feels every time he sleeps?_ She thinks, looking out at the city, _her_ city, that’s slowly but surely being decimated by invaders. Cannons breach their walls, fir benders burn her people, and it’s all the warriors can do to keep people alive. The avatar and his friends are a help, but they are three kids, and this is a large city.

When the battle started, her father had ordered her into the sanctuary, ordering guards he couldn’t spare to protect her and the Ocean and Moon Spirits. It was understandable- Yue didn’t know how to fight- but still made her angry. These were her people, and she could do nothing but standby and watch as her world burned around her.

“I guess we’re both trapped in here for the time being, Li.” Murmers Yue, kneeling down towards the dragon in the ice. Seated near his head, she could see the movement of his eyes behind his lids, but just as she thinks he is about to open them, he stills once more. She is beginning to become worried because in the last few days, Li has not opened his eyes once.

Ever since the siege started, Li had been harder and harder to wake, eventually culminating in a deep slumber that not even Yue could rouse him from. Maybe from the proximity to other fire benders or the result of the fighting and death, but for any reason Li has been almost comatose.

“Please, my friend,” Yue whispers, leaning further down to the ice by his massive ear. “My city needs a protector, please protect us like we have done for you. I know they are your people, but they are doing terrible things.”

A choked sob breaks the silence, but still the dragon sleeps.

~~~~

The second day of the siege was infinitely more productive than the first. They had lost many soldiers when they failed to withdraw at sundown, but when dawn approached their powers were rejuvenated, so Zhao counted that as a success.

And what a success it was. Quickly passing through the first and second layered walls, Zhao left the bulk of his force behind while he took a smaller force within the fortress. The water benders were the only thing standing between him and victory, and well, that problem would be easily corrected soon.

_Zhao the Moon-slayer, Zhao the Conquoror_ He thinks, a slow smile spreading across his face as he imagines the rewards and glory he will obtain when he completes his mission. _Zhao the Bending-stealer_ and _Zhao the Invincible_ have nice rings to them, but his ambition won’t be curbed until there’s a parade dedicated to him and perhaps another promotion for his glory and honor.

The Avatar was a bit of a nuisance, but he is not the master bender of all four elements that Zhao had originally thought he was. A master of airbending, yes, but middling at water bending and has not bent fire or earth at all. He is but one person, _A child,_ thinks Zhao with a sneer, and will be easily captured and contained once the Northern Water Tribe is taken.

His men are easily able to bust inside the Spirit Oasis. Eyes narrowed, Zhao takes stock of the surrounding area. With a harsh order, his men quickly and violently take care of the guards posted at the entrance, and grab onto the Water Tribe Princess. She yells and attempts to escape, but eventually is silenced by a blow to the head.

Was it just his imagination, or did the temperature rise? With a careful gaze, Zhao looks around the enclosure. On an island, the ocean and moon spirits swim in tandem, but other than the pond, everything else is frozen. The surrounding river is not liquid, but rather a dark ring of ice.

_Peculiar_ , wonders Zhao, _The library said that the waters were always warm in the Oasis. Why, then is there ice?_

_“YUE!”_ Shouts a young voice, drawing the attention of the firebenders. A water tribe boy, hair pulled back into a wolf’s tail skids to a stop in front of them. Behind him is the Avatar - _finally -_ and a girl, a water bender if the flask at her hip is any indication.

( _There is a shift in the air.)_

“What did you do to her?!” demands the Avatar, a child’s naivety showing through his brave facade. The water bender behind him takes up a bending stance, popping the cork of her flask while the other boy draws a club.

_Primitive savages,_ Thinks Zhao, as he gestures to his soldiers. Immediately one picks up the fallen Princess and lights a fireball near her face. It doesn’t burn her but does serve its main purpose- a threat.

“Now, now children,” Zhao begins, an unnerving smirk stretching across his face. “We wouldn’t want any _accidents_ now would we?” He asks, eyes pinning the trio into place.

_(The soldiers notice the humid air, strange for a northern city.)_

The water tribe boy looks ready to lunge at him, but the girl throws her arm out against his chest as if to stop him before asking “What do you want? Let her go, or else! Do you really think you can stand up against an avatar, _Fire Nation?_ ”

Zhao rolls his eyes. ‘Let her go, or else?’ Really, he’s heard better threats in a schoolyard.

“He’s not a full Avatar _yet_ , peasant,” he drawls, walking back towards the pond. “And unless you wish for the Northern Water Tribe to have no longer have an heir you, avatar, will take her place.”

_(Water is rippling inside a pond, as two koi fish swim in endless circles.)_

The boy looks devastated, torn between his friends and his freedom. However, his morality eventually wins out, as he says “You will let them go if I come with you?”

“Yes,” replies Zhao, all smiles and promises he doesn’t intend to keep. “I will let them go free at once.”

_(So focused on the avatar, nobody notices the creaking of the ice, barely audible over the sounds of shouts and bending and death outside.)_

The two siblings next to him try to argue, but do not seem to reach the young avatar between them. And as Zhao gestures for his soldiers to grab the Avatar, they take steps back in order to keep distance between them and the soldiers.

Finally, once the avatar is secured with a battalion of fire benders around him, he turns to Zhao and says “Okay, now release Yue like we agreed.”

_(A soldier not at all comfortable with this confrontation notices a shape in the watery ice, unseen until now due to the darkness surrounding them. He backs away from the fight, and sends a prayer to Agni as he hopes for courage.)_

_(Agni listens.)_

Zhao pretends to think about it, but ultimately shakes his head in an over exaggerated manner.

“Seize them!” He shouts, laughing at the loud protests of the children as the Fire nation solders grab onto their arms. The brother attempts to attack with his club, but he has little to no training with arms. The water bender has more success then her brother but a few burns make her scream in pain and drop her water whip.

_(Underneath the ice, something hears her cry. A rumbling crackle echos throughout the Oasis, but Zhao doesn’t hear.)_

“Did you children really think that I was going to give up three very valuable prizes?” Zhao asks incredulously, spreading his arms and leaning back. “I came here with one goal in mind: to kill the moon spirit, but it seems that I will return as Zhao the Conqueror, Zhao the moon-slayer, and Zhao the Imprisoner of the Avatar!”

The three struggle to get to the Princess, all the while the water bender keeps looking desperately towards the surrounding water.

_(“Yes” whispers Tui to her brother,)_

Try as he might, Zhao could not glimpse the bottom of the enclosing lake. The full moon is bright, but it is only reflecting into his eyes, causing him to turn away.

He does not see what is at the bottom.

Perhaps, in another life, he would have. Perhaps, in another life, he would not have seized the Avatar and his friends when they came to help the unconscious Princess Yue. Perhaps, in another life, he would not have turned his back to the creature-monster-nightmare- _dragon_ in the ice. Perhaps, in another life, instead of laughing and taunting his captives, he would have moved sooner and caused the death of the moon spirit. Perhaps, in another life, he would have accomplished his goal, and sailed home victorious. Perhaps, in another life, he would not have let a water bender scream for help.

Alas, this is not that life. And Zhao has forgotten something important about dragons and their hoards.

(“ _Now he wakes.”)_

And inside the ice, something _moves_.

~~~~

_Kin, not-kin, pack, no not that, fire, ice, wind blowing through my mane, lightning breaking the sky_

His dreams are filled with moon-fish and sun-dragons. One-eyed siblings look down from above, both beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

_Strangers! Friends! Foe! RUN!_

He hears the remnants of battles and thunder as cannons ram into the outer walls. His senses scream at him to find his people, to _protect,_ but which side is his anyways?

_No matter what they say, know I will always love you, my son._

A girl screams, causing his ears to twitch and his muzzle to shift. His luminous eyes flutter and try to open despite the fog condensing and confusing his brain.

_Your sister was born lucky, you were lucky to be born._

A boy yells, calling a name he knows means something to him, but the fog is everywhere, choking him, but now it’s _smoke_ and it’s coming from him, coming from his _face._

_You will learn respect! And suffering will be your teacher!_

His back legs tense, and his spine starts to shift from the half- moon shape into a line as the ice begins to splinter and crack around him accompanied by shouts from above.

_Never give up without a fight, nephew._

He is rising, stretching his limbs for the first time in half a decade, opening his creaking maw and feeling the first stirrings of fire in his throat.

_When he fully wakes, I will be here to greet him._

Zuko awakens.

~~~~

There was a dragon that slept under the Great Northern Tribe.

It wasn’t there when Fire Lord Azulon ruled, but it was there when Fire Lord Ozai took the throne. It slumbered in an unnatural sleep, one that has kept him dreaming for nearly five years. He slept, encased in ice, curled around a pond that houses the mortal bodies of his heavenly kin, and dreamt of friends telling stories, children running around his tail, and a voice that lulled him to sleep. In the brief instances where he awoke, his dreams came true, and eventually he cam to realize that he did not want to go back to the land of night.

The dragon awakens, and roars.

~~~~

Zhao is allowed one moment of triumph before the frozen river surrounding the Oasis explodes.

A rattling roar deafens him and his solders, as a creature of legend emerges from the riverbed, no longer encircled but awake and _furious_. Its neck goes up, up, and _up,_ until it positively towers over the frightened soldiers, blocking the only exit. Truly it is massive, and its long, sinewy body is wrapped around the only bit of land in the enclosure.

Suddenly Zhao’s men are regretting taking this mission.

Its golden eyes like suns, one whole and one slitted, stare down at the soldiers ( _traitors! His mind whispers_ ) as it lets out another ear-rupturing shriek and lunges.

The waterbender, Avatar, and water tribe boy join the fight with this creature on their side. They are outnumbered, but numbers do not matter when faced with a behemoth such as this. Zhao’s soldiers are being swept away by waves, knocked unconscious by the water boy’s club, or simply thrown into the air by the Avatar.

The dragon is too fast, too large, too angry, and too full of fire to be able to properly defend against. Some attempt to strike at it with fire, but it only glances off of its scales. The fire that burned the dragon’s eye was mush hotter than the sparks they throw at him. One soldier is knocked into the water by the dragon’s whipping tail, and another is thrown into a column by the dragon’s forelegs. It snaps and rages at the firebenders, and in his bloodlust does not notice Zhao near the pool that housed the Moon and Ocean spirits.

He desperately needs to salvage this. His men are getting destroyed, and the water tribe savages are already rescuing the princess. The avatar will not go quietly without her and now they have an Agni-damned _dragon_ on their side. Weren’t those supposed to be wiped out?

Zhao grits his teeth, and thinks _I’ll at least have one thing to show for this._

A hand gropes into the pool, grabbing onto the pale koi fish, interrupting their dance, and stuffing it in a bag.

_I will at least have death of the Moon Spirit to claim!_

~~~~

Katara is blown away at Li’s strength and thinks _Finally, he’s awake,_ before desperately getting into bending formation. Now, they stand a chance.

The four of them, three human one dragon, fight in perfect synchrony. When Aang is blasted back by a rouge fireball, Katara is there to shield him from the blow with an ice wall. When Sokka is in danger from arrows raining down, Li is there to block with his impenetrable scales. And when the fire benders decide to get smart and pull out rope to tie Li down, Sokka and Katara are there to cut the ropes, and give it back as good as they got.

In fact, they are so focused on keeping up with Li and making sure Yue is safe, that they don’t notice Zhao grab the fish until it is already in the bag. Immediately, the sky turns blood red, and her water whip falls to the ground. By this point, it’s not too big of a deal since most of the fire benders are unconscious ( _or dead, her mind whispers_ ). Yue is awake now, and being fiercely protected by both the dragon and Sokka. Li has gone so far as to wrap his body around them in order to create a barrier between them and the soldiers.

Well, soldier now, seeing as the rest are… unavailable. Katara deliberately turns away from the burnt corpses surrounding the area as red ( _red as blood, red like fire, red like the night mother went away_ ) washes over the sky. Her bending is gone, and Zhao has started yet _another_ monologue (seriously what is up with this guy) but is cut off by Li’s crackling scream.

If Katara wasn’t there herself she would have never had believed it. Li immediately pushed himself away from Sokka and Yue and convulsed violently. Sokka tried to get near, to see what was wrong, but Li’s violent thrashing didn’t allow him to come closer.

_If I can get close to him, maybe I can see what’s wrong and heal it._ Thinks Katara desperately, as she runs towards her serpentine friend. Yue seems to have the same idea, but is unable to get closer.

Their concern for their friend is interrupted, however, when Zhao holds up the bag with the moon spirit in it.

“Now is the hour of our victory!” He shouts, pulling a knife from his belt and leveling it with the wriggling bag. “Long live the fire nation!”

And once again the Spirit Oasis erupts in sound and light.

~~~~

A blast of air and heat washes over the enclosure, as Sokka closes his eyes to shelf them from the light. When he opens them again, Zhao is thrown onto his side, bag discarded, and isn’t moving. The moon spirit in koi form is floating above the pool, encased in rippling water as its mate swims in the lake below. Katara seems fine and Aang is staring at Li who is..

Who is _changing._

Perhaps due to the still red moon, but Li’s scales glow an orange-reddish color, and are… compressing? The dragon, once huge and mighty, is shrinking and becoming smaller, neck shortening and scaled arms receding into his body. His tail is shortening, but does not disappear and his large mane recedes to only the top of his head. His snout disappears, creating a flatter, more _human_ face and his spine straitens until he is standing upright not on all fours. His scales don’t drop off, and some remain embedded in his arms and chest, but most create a kind of clothing made of scales. It is fire nation fashion, with a sash wrapped around his middle and flowing pants wrapped around his legs.

Li is… Li’s _human._

Not fully, as Sokka has never seen a human with scales in his skin and horns on his head, and smoke is coming out of Li’s mouth with every breath. He still had that scar encompassing his eye, but instead of blackened skin, blood-colored scales surrounded his eye, which was colored gold in both the sclera and iris. He still has a tail, and claws still adorn his hands, but it is undeniable that Li is no longer human or dragon, but something in between.

And he is still _furious._

Li the dragon-turned-humanish is the first to lunge towards Zhao, as the commander feebly tries to sit up. And as of right now, Sokka isn’t too keen to stop him. But before Li can plunge his very sharp nails into Zhao’s chest, Yue lets out a shout, “Li, stop!”

With a growl Sokka is sure no human is able to produce normally, Li’s claws stop their downward spiral just before they pierce Zhao's ribcage. He looks at Yue, confused, and makes another one of his _chirrups_ that roughly translates to _Why the fuck did you stop me from killing this bastard?_

Sokka likes to embellish where he can.

However, when Sokka turns to Yue to ask the same question, he is greeted by a similar sight. Standing by the pool where the ocean spirit was floating, Yue gestures for him to come closer. Which would be more normal if Yue’s hand wasn’t a claw.

_Yue’s hand is a claw,_ Sokka’s mind helpfully supplies, _Still, not a dealbreaker._

Similar to Li, Yue’s arm and wrist were covered in scales. However, where Li’s were crimson and gold, Yue had silver and blue scales softly reflecting the light of the moon. The red sky had ebbed, and a dark indigo now covered the heavens. What captured Sokka’s attention, however, were the changes of Yue along with the sky.

Instead of ears, webbed fins now jutted from her head. She did not have horns like Li, but locks of hair colored blue running down her face. Her eyes shone white with a glow radiating past her face. She had scales like freckles along her cheeks and her clothing had changed into a white dress that shone like starlight. Her hair seemed longer and like Li was something other than human. She was still Yue, but the moon spirit changed her into something else.

_If that’s what the moon spirit did to her,_ Thinks Sokka, _what kind of spirit did that to Li?_

Yue-and-the-moon-spirit reach out her hand to Li, and says in a reverberating voice, one low and one high, _“He will get his punishment in due time, Spirit-Brother,”_ as she turns to the exit of the Spirit Oasis. _“Now we must defend my people and set your people to rights.”_

Li climbs off of Zhao’s unmoving body and follows Yue out the entrance, a similar golden glow to her silver one. He does not speak- perhaps he is unable to- but looks back at the avatar and his friends before gesturing for them to follow. _Are you really going to sit here alone while we take care of everything?_ His eyes seem to say when he gives them a questioning glance.

A quick look to Katara and Aang shows Sokka that they are both similarly bursting with questions, but now is not the time. Although they have secured a victory here, the Northern Water Tribe is still under attack and need help. Exiting the sanctuary, after ensuring that Zhao is encased in ice (except his head), they witness a city under siege.

Oh, and a lunar eclipse as well.

~~~~

Zuko’s mind is in turmoil.

The beast inside his mind rages. He was never able to get full control, and its showing now. The transformation is not fully complete, so he is stuck in this half-life until either the sun rises or the moon returns to the sky.

His better eye looks at his Spirit-sister, clothed in moon and stars and looks at his own garments of sun and scales. His throat is not made to form human words, but then again the sun and moon don’t need such mortal concepts to communicate. The World-Spirit and the southern tribe siblings trail behind them, but he has been so far removed for so long that Aang doesn’t hear the conversation between the Great Spirits.

_Well, they’re fucked._ His mind drawls, looking out at Northern Tribe. His sister smiles a bit at his gallows humor, then turns to him. Her voice echos in his mind, familiar like the ice that used to encase him.

_So you will help?_ She asks, smile giving way to a frown as she asks him to commit treason- turn traitor- but then again what does he have to lose? _You would turn against your own country for mine?_

With both of their souls so closely tied together, Zuko cannot tell if this is Yue speaking or Tui, but responds anyways.

_The Fire nation has not been my home since the day I was banished,_ he replies softly, grunting in order to properly convey his distaste. _But should the opportunity allow it,_ he replies in a softer tone, _I would like to spare the rest of them._

Yue-and-Tui nod in agreement, as the lunar eclipse begins, mortals blessed by the Sun and Moon fight beside each other for the first time in centuries.

_So, Spirit-Brother, are we ready to begin?_

~~~~

There are nine Great Spirits in existence. Apart from nine being a particularly spiritual number, the Great Spirits are set to guide their people.

There is Raava, the World-Spirit who inhabits the Avatar and gives them dominion over the four elements. She came into being with her twin after all others, and was only given a conscience when the mortals began to walk the Earth. Perhaps this is why she is the most human out of all of the Great Spirits.

Then there is, of course, Agni who rules over the Sun and Fire and makes his daily trek across the sky looking over and guiding his people and sending his messengers when the need arises.He is the only spirit who rules alone, for he created life from fire and was alone before.

At night, he meets the next Great Spirit, his sister Tui, who watches over her children from above, eternally facing her partner, La, who commands the oceans and tides. They move currents and eternally embraces the push and pull of the waters. They have been lovers for a thousand human lifetimes and will be for a thousand more.

La is eternally in hand with their cousins, Oma and Shu, who burrow underground in colonies and cause earthquakes and landslides. They are the most stationary of all the Great Spirits, preferring to hibernate and do not interfere with mortal life.

Above all resides Feng, mother of the air who commands the Four Winds. Although Lesser Spirits, the Frigid Northern Wind, Barren Eastern Wind, Prosperous Western Wind, and the Humid Southern Wind are all powerful in their own right. They, combined together, make up one part of the Great Spirits.

Finally, there is Vaatu, the antithesis of Raava, who forever opposes her and is the Chaos to her order. He, however, is sealed away and will not awaken.

It is not often, however, that a Great Spirit makes a Child. Not in the human way, of course, and not in the way you're thinking. When a Great Spirit makes a child, they give them a drop of power in comparison to their endless stores. Great Spirits cannot interact with mortals directly, and they cannot interrupt the flow of destiny.

What they can do, however, is shift it ever so slightly.

It is with this in mind, does Tui and Agni make their Children. Yue and Zuko, siblings in all but blood, Sun and Moon. They reflect the relationship their heavenly parents make. When the children are born, they are given a blessing. How they grow and use that blessing is up to them, but the Great Spirits are sure they have chosen correctly.

It is also obvious to mention that when the two fight together, they are a force of nature.

~~~~

The people of the Great Northern Tribe are dying.

There are firebenders in the streets, warriors falling left and right, and Tirikur _can’t find his mommy._

He runs from house to house, ignoring the cries of neighbors for him to stay inside. Don’t they know that he has to find mommy? She ran outside to find his grandpa who’s too old for the fighting and made him promise to stay inside, but she hasn’t come back yet and the house is cold and _Tirikur has to find her._

He’s running down another ally, seeing blasts of fire at the end of it. The sky is red, the moon isn’t in the sky, his home is scary, and _Tirikur can’t find his mother_.

Finally he gets to grandfather’s house, but the door is broken and leans towards the side. The scent of ash fills the street and non of his family are here.

“Mommy! Mommy come back!” He cries, racing down another street- but there! Huddled with his grandfather in an alcove there’s mommy!

“Tirikur no!” She hisses, trying to be silent, but it is too late and the firebenders that previously were making their way down the street catch sight of them. The firebenders prepare fireballs while the soldiers close in on the family.

Tirikur manages to hold onto his mother’s skirts as the fire barrels towards them. He buries his face into his mothers side as she whispers _Its all gonna be okay, close your eyes for me sweetheart, it will be over in a second,_ as tears stream down her face as well, then—

Another ring of fire, a wall stops the fireball in its tracks.

Tirikur’s mother looks up at the protector of her family, a boy-turned-dragon and a girl-turned-serpant and counts herself lucky that she seems to be in a spirit tale.

~~~~

They blow through the Great Northern Tribe, Yue climbing above in the sky where she belongs, and Zuko in the streets below, defending her people.

She watches over her people, hung in the sky above like her Spirit counterpart, as the power of the Sun and Moon sweep through the city. Most soldiers lay down their weapons in surrender or simply run for the ships. She lets them escape, but the ones who attempt to fight back are slain. She is Spirit-sister, Moon-daughter, and Sea-serpant.

And she will defend her home.

He, on the other hand, is her sword arm and attacker. He is the one who chases the more determined from her shores with fire and claws and blood. They move like a hurricane as they pass the inner and outer walls. Fire does not reach him, fizzling out before it even comes close.

Fire cannot burn a dragon.

As they reach the outer walls, La decides that they want to help as well. Although they do not need it, the Spirit-Siblings allow the Great Spirit to take part in the defense.

Turning to Aang, Yue-and-Tui-together ask _“Our partner wishes to help defend my home. Will you accept his spirit my friend?”_

Aang appears conflicted, unnerved by the violence depicted by the two but understanding what is needed to be done in order to protect the innocent. “Yes,” he agrees, and La (later named koizilla by some storytellers) possesses the avatar.

Later, one soldier would recount his time in the Fire Nation Navy, particularly his part in the Siege of the Northern Water Tribe. If not for the various other accounts backing up his claim, he would have been laughed out of his village. However, hearing a story and seeing it in person are two very different things.

A wall of water, tall as a mountain rises with the help of La. When faced with the combined forces of the Sun, Moon, and Ocean Spirits, the Fire Nation Navy has no choice but to retreat, or be drowned.

(Elsewhere, a certain admiral is dragged into the sea by La. They are not pleased with the threat to their spouse and there is no young prince to try to save him this time)

Shouts of “Retreat!” and “All speed ahead!” fill the air, as one hundred ships collect their passengers, and begin their retreat without an admiral to guide them. One navy commander steps up, and leads his men away from certain slaughter.

_Never did like that Zhao bastard anyways,_ he thinks as he steers the commanding ship towards open waters.

And such ends the siege of the Northern Water Tribe.

~~~~

With the end of the threat, so does end the need for the moon spirit to keep possessing Yue. Sending an apologetic glance to Li, Yue lets go of the power inside her. Her body changes, clothing revering back to blue and scales disappearing from her skin. Her hair shortens and becomes fully white again, as her fins turn back into human ears. A sliver of spiritual energy in the form of a white koi fish flies back towards the direction of the pond and soon after the moon turns white and whole above.

Almost immediately as the moon is back in the sky, Li begins his change as well, this time in reverse. His body lengthens and grows more scales in place of skin. His bones crack and rearrange- _ouch_ \- and once again he is a dragon, no longer a boy. Yue manages to send one last prayer of thanks up to Tui before falling into a slumber, exhausted from her experience. Silence resonates around them.

“I _knew_ you would be a friend!” Shouts Aang, moving towards the dragon with a speed only gifted to airbenders. However, before he is able to make contact with Li, who is standing over Yue’s prone body, an ice wall shoots between them.

Screeching to a stop, Aang looks to Katara, eyes drawn in confusion “Hey what gives?”

“It wasn’t me!” Katara protests, gesturing to the water benders who have surrounded Li’s hulking form.

“Step away from my daughter you monster,” shouts Chief Arnook, approaching Li with a spear. Behind him many other Water Tribe warriors look similarly prepared for battle.

“Whoa whoa whoa, guys, guys,” says Sokka, trying to step between the two “Li literally just helped us get rid of Fire Nation soldiers, what are you doing?”

But all Arnook does is grab Sokka and gathers Yue in his arms while his soldiers fight back Li, who is trying to get to Yue.

“He didn’t do anything wrong!” Yells Katara, attempting to defend Li, but even she cannot stand up to numerous water benders on her own.

“He escaped from an ice prison, do you really think I’ll believe a dragon came to fight his people?”

“But I’m the Avatar,” begins Aang, unsuccessfully trying to argue with Arnook. “I promise he means no harm!”

“I saw a spirit of the sun fighting with you and my daughter,” says Arnook stiffly, “And until I hear otherwise from her the dragon is to be treated as an enemy.”

But Yue is unconscious, and the dragon known as Li is no longer human, so they are unable to deter the water benders from capturing their friend.

And so the dragon under the Great Northern Tribe is encased in ice once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, once again, cannon is my punching bag.
> 
> YALL IF YOU REALLY THOUGHT I WAS GONNA KILL OFF YUE PLEASE.
> 
> in all honesty, her death made me cry when I first watched the episode, she was my favorite from the moment she came on screen, and I couldn't kill off zukos first real friend. cmon this boys been through enough
> 
> brought the oc kiddo back lol hope you guys liked his traumatizing event
> 
> btw SOMEONE gave me another kudos RUINING my 69 kudos counter. im out for blood
> 
> jk jk kudos if you want 
> 
> ANYWAYS, lol he got captured. that happened. like the regular ppl of the northern water tribe liked him, but the higher ups seriously doubted if he would ever truly awaken. wonder what's gonna happen o.0 
> 
> lol jk I already know. I've got this whole story planned out and its probably gonna be like 20ish chapters? maybe thirty? idk probably 20ish but they're gonna be longish chapters. like 3,000-5000 words. Thats long right? I don't wanna make this too long or gloss over anything important. You know what ill just roll with it.
> 
> anyways leave a kudos or a comment down below if you feel like it. see you guys in a few days or a few weeks, who knows ;)
> 
> ~~~~ Cut scenes
> 
> zuko: I can't fuckin move, and all I have is this chick who keeps reading me stories 
> 
> Yue: quietly reading
> 
> zuko, who arguably only has one working ear: PLEASE SPEAK UP 
> 
> ~~~~
> 
> Sokka: look dragon I don't trust u ur big and scary and mean and u kinda look like nature took a shit on u
> 
> Zuko: yeh I do
> 
> Sokka: wait no that's not supposed to happen
> 
> ~~~~
> 
> Cheif Arnook: wow we have a dragon in our basement, look at that, lol jk its probably a fossil or something
> 
> zuko: wiggles
> 
> Arnook: what the FUCK


	4. Better Run For Your Lives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *comes in a month later*
> 
> *chucks chapter at you* NYEH
> 
> *runs*

He awoke somewhere dark and cold. _Not again,_ his mind screeches _, don’t put me back down there again!_

Zuko feels a familiar fear rising in his chest and bile in the back of his throat but forces himself to calm down. Panicking won’t get him anywhere, least of all out of the ice. From within the icy structure surrounding him he can tell that it isn’t like the ice that encased him in the Spirit Oasis. They’ve given him room to breathe, more like an icy igloo than the tunnel he inhabited before, but it is still a prison and he knows he has to get out.

The glass is cloudy, but translucent enough for him to see outside of his enclosure. There are guards, placed around his bubble to keep him contained. Zuko takes care to keep very, very still as not to alert them outside. He quietly observes the ice around him. If he wants to escape quickly and without casualties, he’s going to have one shot at this.

To the right of Zuko’s tail is a flaw in the ice, a seam where two walls met. There, if he’s clever, he can escape. He feels the fire rising in his throat to prepare for a fireball that will allow him to flee.

Outside the glacier that contains a massive foe, two water tribe warriors sit while standing guard.

“Hey, is it just me or is the dragon glowing?”

“How much sea-prune wine did you ha- OH SWEET TUI AND LA!”

Water douses fire, but fire is very adept at melting ice

~~~~

Meanwhile, a council has been called in the Great Northern Tribe. The meeting is large, all of the elders and people crammed into the Great Hall, with the Avatar’s group seated at the high table. The meeting is in chaos, elders shouting for order as the younger generations argue. Cheif Arnook is sitting at the head of the table, a stern glare overlooking the circular room. Aang, Katara, and Sokka are all furiously arguing. Princess Yue is absent, presumably still unconscious due to her channeling the Moon spirit. _These jerks probably wouldn’t have invited her anyways,_ thinks a furious Sokka.

“Li was the one who saved the Moon Spirit! Zhao would have killed her if he hadn’t interfered!” Aang is a windstorm, all anger and justice in one. He is not seated, but standing at the table. For such a pacifist monk, he is clutching his hands into fists that show Sokka how upset he is right now.

“And where is this Zhao character now, hm?” One wizened old man asks. “We counted the dead, and there was no Admiral Zhao among them! There were soldiers, yes, but whose to say that they weren’t just there to capture Princess Yue.”

“Or maybe they were there to wake the dragon up in order to use it against us!” Chimes in another elder, face pulled down in a distrustful frown.

“We just said that Li was there to _help!_ He was the one fighting off the soldiers just in a different form.” Shouts Katara, but her voice is drowned out by the elder opposite her.

“Oh yes, another form is it? So what was he a badgermole?” A condescending tone blares out among the arguments, turning to the crowd and laughing. “Truly, do you expect us men to believe that, little girl?”  
  
_“What is that supposed to mean?”_ Barks Katara, looking for all intents and purposes ready to go and strangle the reedy old man across from her. Sokka stands up and grabs her arm, before they’re the next one on trial for homicide. Shooting a glare at the man, he shouts to back her up. “I believe her!”

“You are a child,” dismisses Arnook, waving his hand from where he sits at the head of the table. “You are not a man yet.”

Okay so maybe homicide was not the worst thing to be on their to-do list.

Atop Sokkas head, Momo adds to the din, screeching his displeasure at having his heat pack locked away in the ice. (Momo had been so cold up in the _Dark-Ice_ area, so he was so happy to find a _Warm-Large_ space, even if the _Warm-Large_ space smelt like _Lizard-Predator-RUN!_ )

“Sirs…” says a quiet voice, and when Sokka looks over, he sees a young man about his age in armor and holding a spear. For some reason, he is being pushed by much older men at the council, and looks like he’s walking to his execution. However, Katara has started another screaming match with the other half of the council and while she is doing a very good job defending her point, the group cannot hear the warrior over their own noise.

“Sirs, please, there’s uh…” at this, the young man looks back at the other warriors who are staring daggers at his back. Sokka stifles a snicker. Clearly this poor fellow had drawn the short stick and had something bad to tell the council. Sucker.

One of the older advisers makes a comment about women and their emotions, and _wow_ Aang can be really loud when he wants to. Damn all that airbending training must have something to do with sound, since he is easily deafening Sokka, and they’re sitting next to each other. Katara is turning purple as she rapidly begins to argue, which is a pretty big accomplishment considering her dark skin.

Turning back to the poor soul, he seems to have shrunken even further in on himself and is not even trying to get the attention of the council as much as he is trying to back away into the crowd. The veritable wall of warriors behind him offer no sympathy, and Sokka decides to cut the guy a break and yells “OI, THIS GUY’S GOT SOMETHING TO SAY!” While pointing at the young man who looked like he wants the ice beneath his feet to swallow him whole.

“Kota, what do you need?” Asks Arnook, leaning forward and staring at the young man who began to sweat profusely.

“Well, you see…” he begins, knuckles white as he grips the spear in his hand. Having the collective gaze of the most powerful people in his nation is not good for Kota’s blood pressure. “I, uh, so there was a dragon in the courtyard.”

“Yes, we know this Kota, he’s contained,” says Master Pakku, annoyed. “What about it?

“Yeah, uh that dragon, is uh…”

“Spit it out already!” Grits out Katara, who is about to throttle him if he doesn’t let her return to educating the council about women’s rights.

_I’m so fucked._ Thinks Kota, before scrunching his eyes closed and yelling, “The dragon is gone!”

“What? How!” Demands Arnook, standing from his chair as the council devolves into chaotic shouting around him.

“I don’t know sir! There must have been a flaw in the ice, but only Yoriko noticed how the ice was glowing before it melted it. We tried to stop it, but even as the water benders threw ice at it, it flew away!”

“Silence, silence!” Shouts Arnook over the din, trying to regain order but it is lost. The court is in true chaos now and nothing will calm them down.

The chatter and shouts of the arguing council reach a head. They are all but screaming at each other, the Avatar and his friends passionately defending Li, while the elders argue against the dragon they see as foe who has now escaped. So caught up in their arguments are they, that they do not notice when the doors to the chamber swing open once again even though they had been sealed closed by waterbenders. They do not notice when the crowed gathered in the antechamber goes silent, parting like the sea. They only fall quiet when they see Yue at the base of the steps, emotions warring across her face.

And she is _furious._

Her anger does not burn, does not make her red in the face. She is not like her brother, full of fire and lightning and anger. Instead, her fury is cold, an unstoppable tide. Many assume that fire is the most dangerous element due to its ability to burn and break. While it is true that flames can cause more destruction than most, cold can kill just as easily as any blade or spark.

And truly, Yue’s anger cuts to the bone.

“In case none of you noticed during the Seige, I was present.” Cold, cutting words echo over the silent atrium. There is quiet, and none move except to breathe. Like Li, there is another predator in the Great Northern Tribe.

They just never realized she was there.

For years, she has taken the condescending looks, the pitiful eyes, _if only you were born a man._ Like her Spirit Brother, she has slept, albeit in a metaphorical way. She has been quiet, and demure, and obedient to a fault. She does not argue when they exclude her from meetings, even though she is her father’s child. She does not argue when they tell her who she is going to marry. She does not argue when she is told that she is not the heir, despite being the next in line.

Yue will be silent for no longer.

“Yue, you should be resting,” Arnook starts, beginning to stand from his seat. With an icy glare that had come from years of _You’re just a girl_ and _Only men rule,_ Yue silences him. She has come here to speak, and she will not be denied.

“I have rested for fifteen years, father. Sit down and listen, my words ring true.” Eyes glowing a brilliant white, Yue’s voice is old and young at the same time. She is the windstorm on the horizon, the new moon in darkest night, and when she had found light in her brother, these people ( _mortals, her mind whispers_ ) endeavor to take him away. Yue has been encased in ice for her entire life, and it was not until she met Li did she finally melt her prison. The moon reflects the light of the sun, after all, and right now she _glows._

Behind her, like a mirage on the waves, is a woman. Her face has only one unblinking eye with the pupil trained on her daughter below. Her proportions are too warped, to inhumane to be mortal and her hair is like starlight on snow. Whispers break out around the crowd, sailors and warriors recognizing the woman as the glint of moonlight on an open sea, a warning at night for storms in morning. To look at her is to see an endless night sky, and to see fury and anger in her smile. While Agni is her wrathful brother, just as the moon reflects the sun does Tui carry her own anger.

The dual tone voice breaks over the hushed antechamber, as none dare to speak and invoke the wrath of Yue or Tui. Right now there is no difference.

_“See me, and hear me now. I will no longer be silent. My Spirit-Brother, Thrice-Cursed, First-Born, has been given enough pain. I will not allow you to add on to his sorrows.”_

Behind the _Spirit-in-the-shape-of-girl_ , the woman’s mouth stretches into an inhumane grin. Tui loves her children, but like Agni she does not love what they have done. Her _Spirit-nephew_ is in pain, and it was her people who put him there. She speaks with Yue when they say _“I will go with my brother, and with the Avatar to find him. We will go, and give him the peace that he deserves. We will go, and give him the home and family he has longed for.”_

_“And then all of his enemies will get their due._ ”

With this parting words, the glow and smell of sea water fades from Yue’s form. Tui gives her peoples leaders one last shark-toothed smile, before fading away like ice in morning’s light. Even without the Spirit of the moon behind her, Yue is a storm in itself and she is not done speaking.

“I am done with being controlled and suffocated by my people. I will go south with the Avatar to find Li.” At he father’s intake of breath, she narrows her eyes, before continuing over his protests. “I _will_ go south. This is not up for discussion nor is it a choice you can make for me. I am done having my life decided by others, least of all you father.”

“I will go south and help the Avatar learn bending. I am sure Li will want to assist once we find him. And we _will_ find him,” she says to the disbelieving stares of the council. “And when everything is done and the fight is done, I will return home and learn how to lead my people properly.”

“A woman has never-“ interjects Pakku, leaning forward in his seat. Before he can continue, however, he is stopped by the glacial look Yue sends him.

“A woman has never led the Northern Water Tribes, that is correct,” at this her eyes glow again, not as brightly as before, but a silent promise to return. “But I am not only a woman. I have the power of our moon on my side, and I am firstborn which gives me the right to rule.”

At this, Yue shows her first and only crack in her steely gaze. As she is fully able to meet the council’s heavy stares head on, her father is another thing. Instead of staring at her with anger or worry, he looks at her as if he had never seen his daughter before. She supposes, in a way, he never has.

She does not know if that is a good thing.

~~~

“Whew! Oh thank the spirits you came when you did Yue, things were getting a _little_ tense.”

Katara rolled her eyes at her brother. Yeah a little tense. More like _I am going to strangle four different old cankers if they don’t stop discrediting me due to what’s under my skirt._ Katara liked the Northern Water tribe, but she doesn’t fancy spending the rest of her life there when they inevitably locked her up due for homicide. Or how she likes to call it, _misogonistic culling._

Still, she could agree that Yue definitely put them in her place. The rush of adrenaline she felt seeing the council members collectively shit themselves at the no-nonsense attitude that Yue gave them was like balm to her womanly soul. She and Sokka exchanged a silent fist bump in the mutual agreement that Yue was super hot, especially when she laid down that no-nonsense attitude.

“It is no problem.” Yue replies, nodding her head at them. “Though I do apologize for involving you in the conflict.

“No, no, no” waves off Katara, turning to face the princess. “You gave them exactly what they deserved, and I couldn’t have said it better myself. Are you sure you want to come with us though?” While Katara wanted Yue to come, she didn’t know if the princess could defend herself when needed.

With a small smile, Yue looked around. Seeing no one but them in the small landing area with Appa, she held out her hand as ice crystals formed in complex geometric shapes on her open palm. “Trust me, Tui wouldn’t leave me defenseless.”

“You’re a waterbender! I didn’t know people could gain bending from spirits.” Interjected Aang, positively brimming with excitement at the thought of another friend. Yue smiled at his childlike excitement and nodded.

“I don’t have much control yet, and for now it seems to be only ice, but I will be happy to learn from you and Katara on our journey.”

“And me!” Sprouts Sokka, looking slightly put out. “And you.” Yue replies with a bow of her head.

They were scheduled to leave later that same day. With how Li had escaped, they wanted to catch up as soon as possible to their friend, but supplies needed to be gathered before they could leave. Anxiously, the four waited by Appa while servants loaded up the bison. Sokka was polishing his new club, courtesy of the warriors, and Katara was popping the cork of her water container open and closed while they waited for Yue to come back. She had gone to pack her things and change into traveling clothes before they left.

Nearing the end of his patience, Sokka looked around for Yue once more. The courtyard was small but full of bustling people as they tried to get the bison packed for their trip. After looking around for what seemed to be the tenth time in as many minutes, he spotted her in an archway, talking to her father in hushed tones. From what he could see, Arnook looked apologetic and sad and Yue seemed upset as well but firm. Finally, she hugged him around the neck as he held her tightly back, and let her go.

As Yue made her way back to Appa to take off, Sokka noticed that her eyes were glassy. He held out his hand to pull her up, and asked “Everything okay?”

With a watery smile on her face, Yue nodded.

“It will be.”

~~~

Zuko is not having a great time.

He didn’t have a great time when he was stuck in the ice for Agni knows how long. He didn’t have a great time being immediately imprisoned in ice _once again_ after defending the Northern Water Tribe from his own people. He didn’t have a great time when his father decided to-

Yeah so, not great.

Escaping from the ice was much easier this time, and escaping from the city even easier seeing as he was the only one able to fly. Giving the two guards the scare of their life was pretty fun, but he was otherwise occupied with _not getting speared by angry and scared water tribe warriors._

He had been flying for almost the entire night, and given that it was dusk when he left, he had to find land soon. Should Zuko run out of energy while flying over the sea, there is no doubt that he would sink and drown. Tui may be the sister of Agni, but the ocean has never been on a firebender’s side, especially not a dragon.

His long neck and lanky body ache with the effort of keeping his body in the air, and as the first rays of morning’s light breaks over the horizon finally- _finally-_ there is a strip of land in the distance. A small island, barely big enough to call it that, disconnected from the coast of the mainland. Its oblong in shape, but has enough trees to safely hide him while he recovers from his flight. Zuko is tired, more tired than he has ever felt before and its all he can do to land (crash) somewhat gracefully on the sandy beach and make his way up the rocky shore. His skin feels too big and too tight at the same time and whatever freakish burst of energy he had while fighting through the city is gone now.

The city. Yue. _Sister._

And he left her. Zuko knew how miserable she was locked up in her icy prison. While his hearing wasn’t the best, Zuko herd her when she confided in him about her problems. Every time she spoke about how she was shut out of a meeting, or had another thing decided for her without her input, Zuko burned with rage. In the Fire Nation, had anyone tried to do that to a women they would have been thrown head over heels by said woman. He didn’t look down on her for not physically fighting the elders, however. While he certainly didn’t approve of it, Zuko could understand that here it wasn’t socially acceptable to fight, even as a man.

But he _left_ her there. All alone, with no one to talk to. Sure, the Avatar and his companions were there, but how long until they left her alone? He needed to go back. But as he strained his heaving body to once more take flight, his muscles wouldn’t comply, sinking back into the soft sand.

_Okay maybe after a short rest._

~~~

Fire, surrounding him, suffocating.

_(A tall figure, backlit by the fire behind him approaches)_

It burns, please, stop.

_(He only wanted to be a leader their people would be proud of.)_

A voice, calling him through the flames. Its muffled, but the speakers tone is calming and deep. They want him to listen.

_(You will learn respect! And suffering will be your teacher!)_

(Zuko)

No, not his father, not him. He is a loyal son, he would never betray Father.

_(She was born lucky)_

(Zuko, wake up)

The flames burn higher, burn brighter, igniting the air burning his lungs, lighting up the sky, scorching his throat, blistering his _face-_

_(I was lucky to be born)_

(Zuko!)

Zuko wakes up.

~~~

Or perhaps not exactly. With a jolt, he shoots up almost hitting the massive form above him. The edges of his vision is blurry, shapes and colors and sound all assaulting his senses as he takes stock of where he is. Or, more importantly, what he is.

Zuko is no longer the large powerful creature he calls his second skin. Instead he is small— isn’t that amazing— and his arms have hands at the end of them not claws. His legs are not scaly, but are simply human legs with kneecaps, which is a definite win. Reaching up hopefully to his face, it feels free of the scales he had grown used to covering his body but the scar still sat on his eye, heavy and solemn. Looking around, he quickly realized he was not alone. Fire surrounded him in a loose circle, not harming but providing a pleasant warmth.

Sat on the other side of a ring of fire sat a man. Man, in only the loosest form of the word, since one could only have to look at his single eye in the middle of his forehead and his too long teeth to notice that this was a spirit in human form. In front of the seated man, lay a small necklace with three pendants on the chain. Holding the chain in his hand, the man gestures for Zuko to calm down. He was reminded, strangely, of uncle when he would gesture with his teacup across from him during lazy days in the gardens.

_Peace, young one. I only meant to give a brief reprieve from the nightmares and perhaps explain a few things._

Understandably weary and cautious, Zuko sits cross legged in front of the- man? Spirit?- and tries to focus. The haze of the dream is making his thoughts fuzzy and concentrating is becoming difficult. The smell of smoke and ash is making him lightheaded, yet his throat and lungs do not burn. The contradictions of this nightmarish dream are tugging at his mind, telling him to think, look, _see_ who it is in front of him.

Eloquently, Zuko responds with “What the fuck?” As you do when confronted with a possibly godlike being invading your dreams.

A deep chuckle reverberates throughout the small circle, resonating in Zuko’s chest. Privately, he mentally thanks his lucky stars that the being did not take offense while simultaneously kicking himself for being so careless.

_Do you know who I am, young one?_

Uh, shit. Fuck. Look, Zuko was never really good at remembering dates and historical events, but spirit tales are the one thing he has down front and back. Hours of Uncle drilling into him the importance of spirits and their many myths has made him basically an expert. Let’s see, fire? He’s male so not the painted lady. Can’t be Koh because I’ve definitely changed expressions, so that means…

Oh, Agni.

Scrambling into a quick bow, ( _Fuck, why didn’t he realize it sooner?_ ) Zuko hopes that the Great Spirit of Fire wasn’t offended.

“I am so sorry- I didn’t- well its just-”

Another rumbling laugh echoes in the dream, sounding like the thunder that rolls over the sky at dawn and the crackle of fire at night. Zuko is sweating bullets now, not from the fire but from wondering if he was going to be roasted alive for the second time in his life. Abruptly, the laughter stops, a concerned single eye looking down at the bowing boy below him.

_Calm yourself, young one, I mean you no harm. The fire shall not harm you here._

Looking up through the mess of locks that was his hair, Zuko looks up at the spirit- _Agni-_ before asking, “Why have you bought me here, sir?”

In response to his question, the Great Spirit leaned back and procured the chain of the necklace in his hand, three pendants swinging in the fiery haze. The first one is a bronze color, with a claw seemingly gripping the disc. The second is a pale golden color with a crudely carved bear into the center. And the final pendant is black as the night, with a bright blue ember in the middle of the circle. Leaning forward onto Zuko prone form, the spirit places the chain around his neck speaking a blessing too soft to be heard.

_I am truly sorry, my child, that I failed you more than once. These terrible, terrible things should not have happened to anyone, least of all you_.

Confused, Zuko sits back into a crossed legged position on the ground, one hand absently reaching up to touch the gift given to him. “What do you mean, failed me? You’re a spirit, you cant fail anyone.”

A soft sigh fills the empty silence at his statement. Agni’s one eye is hard enough to look at, but the rest of his face is fulled with sorrow.

_I have failed so many of my people, you more than most, my little dragon. I do not have enough time to explain everything, for mortals do not last long in my realm even if you are my child. But I will leave you with this. The blessing I have given you now will not remove the curse placed upon you. However, should you awaken the rest of your kin, the ties that bind you will no longer have strength to keep you chained. Seek out the other three, young dragon. Seek out the ones who sleep._

“Ones who sleep? All the dragons are gone, Agni. All that’s left are halflings like me.” Shaking his head in irritation, Zuko looses all semblance of composure. “Wait, I need more information, please!”

The dream around him is dissolving, fire burning brighter and smoke clouding his vision. Agni is no longer visible, the glow from his eye the only thing left that Zuko can see.

_Go to where the West lays sleeping, my little dragon._

_Go forth, and awake._

~~~

Zuko wakes up just as the last lights of day sink over the horizon. It seems like he has slept for the whole day, and his wounds received from the Northern water tribe has healed. He would have brushed the strange dream off, if not for the chain around his scales. He has to go west.

But what about Yue? How could he leave her behind? How could he leave her to that isolated life, without friends, without choice?

_I will come back for her,_ he promises, _I will return._

But first, the dragon that slept under the Great Northern Tribe flies west to freedom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, back here a month later.
> 
> Sorry I haven't updated, but I wanted to make sure that this chapter was great :). Ill probably have the next chapter ready by next month, and then we'll see the gang and zuko meet up. or will they??? hmmmm
> 
> thanks to everyone who commented and left a kudos, I love reading every comment u guys are the best.
> 
> I drew some art if anyone would like to follow my Tumblr and get alerts to when the next update is.
> 
> https://generic-usernamee.tumblr.com/post/618312213849063424/made-some-art-for-my-fan-fiction-let-sleeping
> 
> Let me know what you think! <3
> 
> Cut scenes:
> 
> ~~~
> 
> Yue, holding Arnooks face between two slices of bread: What are you?
> 
> Arnook: a sexist sandwich
> 
> ~~~
> 
> Agni: lol hey kid hope u don't go insane
> 
> Zuko: what the FUCK is up Kyle?? What the FUCK??
> 
> ~~~
> 
> Yue: *takes no fucking shit from no one*
> 
> Katara and Sokka, unanimously: hot


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